SPS lighting guru's

[clkwrk]

Hey folks . I am in the process of planning my new 180 which will go up pretty quick . Anyways I am stumped on my MH scheme.

Currently I am thinking about 5 reef optix III's on ice caps. ( already have)

But I have also thought about 3 Luminarc3 instead.

Just when I thought I was set and going to go with the L3 reflectors and se bulbs I did the reflector research .

Below is what I found . IMO it looks like the 5 roIII's will do better than 3 L3 reflectors .

Cost isn't the issue light coverage and intensity is :D

Here is a 250 roIII with 10k ab bulb
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/images/july2003/fig17-reefoptix-250de-top.gif

and the L3 with 400w se 10k ushio
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/images/mar2003/fig16-diamond-light-top.gif

What do you guys think ?

TIA

[Purple Haze]

ive seen 5 DE pendants over a 180. Talk about intense. You'll be wise to throw in some 14 or 20k in two of those pendants.

P.S. Don't forget the chiller!

[clkwrk]

Thanks . I have 2 chillers that will be running if need also I am venting my canopy dirrectly outside.

I was also think 10k reeflux 14kphx 10k 14k 10k

[fishypets]

No actinics?

[clkwrk]

Oh yeah but I not having a hard time with that decision.

That will be 2 160w vho super atinic and 4 80w t5 ati blue and blue +

[turtlespd]

well what is important is the dimensions of the tank. Im sure you can run 4 de mh over a 180 and still get even spread. If you got a wide tank then hands down Lumenarc is the way to go. It doesnt seem electricity is a concern so i would 5 DE. Unlike you, here is S cali 5 DE would cost me atelast 500 a month. Lucky dog!

[orion76]

How about two of these babies, it's what I have on mine :D

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y95/orion76/c44bc1ee.jpg

[turtlespd]

orion,

That is a nice set up you got there. What type of bulb is that in the center? I never seen a reekper use that type of bulb and can you please post pics of what corals look under all that light!

Paul

[turtlespd]

just saw your gallery..WOW and thats one nice coffe maker you got there. One shot or two!

[phatstanley02]

Theres an LFS here that has 4 150w pendants and 3 250w pendants all geissman running AB20k bulbs all on a 210. It looks incredible and the 20k's arent too blue by any means

[orion76]

The center bulb is an Osram 6400K bulb, the other two are BLV 10K and Radium 20K, all 400w :)

My tank is 40" deep so I need the fire power :)

[clkwrk]

how large are those units?

[orion76]

It's a Growzilla from Hydrofarm, they're 21" x 21".

They come with two sockets standard but I DIY-ed the third one in the middle.

Mixing a 10K bulb with a 20K bulb in the same reflector gives a beautiful lighting effect that's hard to create otherwise. The 6400K bulb I run for one hour at the peak photo period.

[clkwrk]

Is spread and intensity even ? I am looking for a daylight bright reef tank 8)

[orion76]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6691922#post6691922 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clkwrk
Is spread and intensity even ? I am looking for a daylight bright reef tank 8)

Yes it's very even. I especially notice it when taking pics of my tank, with my previous lighting setup I always had the problem of trying to balance overexposed and underexposed areas in my pictures. With this new setup every part of the tank is equally exposed, no dark spots like before. Sorry I don't have before and after pics, I upgraded the lights the same time I removed the DSB and cooked my rocks.

[Purple Haze]

damn. I've never seen a reflector/bulb setup like that. Then again, i've never "grown my own." ;)

[orion76]

Well I do hail from Amsterdam originally :lol:

[want2reef]

clkwrk,

After looking at those links from Sanjay, it seems that you would get more intensity in a 2x2 area with the ROIII than the Lumenarcs.

I'd stick with the ROIII.

That is asuming your tank is the standard 6X2X2.

[SunnyX]

I just received Two Lumenarcs to replace my three ROIII's and am very happy with the results. The two lumenarcs easily cover more space then the ROIII's.

You cant go wrong with either the ROIII or Lumenarcs, I just didn't like the "spotlight" effect of the ROIII. The major PAR was only directly under the bulbs in the ROIII,Causing many of my corals to only grow in on direction. With the Lumenarcs the light in coming from all directions, it surrounds the corals, so hopefully this will lead to a more natural, rounded coral growth.